The Daily WTF: That’s Not Snow, That’s Spider Webs

Just when you’re starting to think, Those lucky Australians, getting snow while New York and other American cities wallow in biting cold, you remember that Australia, existing in two different hemispheres from us, has just ended summer and is transitioning into autumn.

So no, that’s not beautiful, fluffy snow that’s gently gathered over a farm in New South Wales. That’s — shudder — a cushion of spider webs woven by the arachnids struggling to escape the floods that have hit Australia lately. And as an arachnid expert so “helpfully” informs Reuters, this looks to be the work of wolf spiders. Yep, it couldn’t have been one of the species with a more comforting-sounding name; it has to be the predators who are plotting to take over humans’ homes.

OK, so I’m exaggerating a bit about the spiders’ motives. But you have to admit that it’s incredibly eerie how these guys are trying to adapt to the rising waters and encroaching on farms and fields.

This next photo may either be comforting or disturbing for you, depending on your tolerance for tiny spiders. (If you saw Arachnophobia during your childhood, you’re probably permanently scarred, as I am, from that scene where all the little buggers climb over the TV screen.)

I don’t think I’m alone in hoping that the floods can subside soon, right?